1 John 2 v 12 - 14

The first thing to note with this beautiful passage is that, though it is not exactly poetry, it is poetical so therefore should be interpreted as poetry. Secondly, John gives all believers the reason why we can stand firm and confident: remember who you are and what has been done for you-the One who is from the beginning and has created all that can be seen or cannot be seen knows you and is known by you. With that acknowledgement comes the strength to resist and defeat the evil one, whose most destructive weapons are guilt and shame. When you are tempted, remind yourself of who you are, not because of anything you have done, but because Almighty God has revealed Himself to you and you can draw on the supernatural strength which comes from Him. John gives his readers three titles here: 1. Little children 2. Fathers 3. Young men. Now it could be taken as the obvious physical age groups, but remember this is ancient John writing and he appears to call everyone 'little children!' Also, because the passage is poetical, we should hesitate to jump to so literal a meaning. When we study the passage more, we notice too that the blessings of which John speaks are not the exclusive possession of one age group. It appears that our rightful conclusion should be that John's is referring in each category to every believer. We can all find ourselves included in each and every category. These are then the gifts poured out upon us: 1. The gift of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. 2. The gift of increasing knowledge of God. In your understanding of God you are not now what you once were! 3. The gift of victorious strength. When we walk with Jesus, we walk with the One whose company can enable us to defeat the evil one's assaults.